Xu Guangqi: Treatise on Agriculture
Xu Guangqi’s “treatise on agriculture” is an example of late Chinese pun-encryption, of which I managed to decrypt a tiny part. On the surface, it deals with the Chinese myth about how the god of farming taught the ancient people how to use plows. For imperial governance, that’d be completely useless. Why did such a powerful & spooky statesman write such a lengthy mythical text? As usual, it’s really a pun-encrypted treatise on spookery, i.e. about why & how the rulers feign to be “little people”.
Introduction
In Ancient China, the imperial examinations for government officials inexplicably involved writing poetry. The explanation is likely that all these exams were really testing the applicants’ encryption skills.
One late example of Chinese encryption may be Xu Guangqi’s 農政全書 nóngzhèng quánshū “treatise on agriculture”. It starts with the myth about how the Chinese god of agriculture taught the people how to plough, but makes no real point about it. Under the hood, it seems to be yet another treatise about spookery, with the 神農氏 shénnóngshì “god of agriculture” being misused as a spooky pun-encryption for the 甡農事 shēn nóngshì “multitudes of peasants” who are being deceived.
This treatise doesn’t come from a nobody: As a reader pointed out, Xu Guangxi later held the post of Deputy Senior Grand Secretary, explained as “effectively a deputy premier for the imperial cabinet”. Wikipedia says about Xu’s connections that “Guangqi’s branch of the Xus were not related to those who had passed the imperial examinations”. But the Grand Secretariat is described as the “de facto the highest institution in the imperial government of the Chinese Ming dynasty”. A secretary position in this office was an extremely high rank, surely unattainable without family connections. So as usual, Xu Guangxi’s rags-to-riches biography is likely a fairytale, and he actually was related to those Xus who held imperial posts. They were probably spook-aristocrats in their own right. I don’t know if it means anything, but the name Xu Guangxi even puns with 侐關係 xù guānxì “silent relations”.
Xu Guangqi lived in the 16th century, when he was collaborating with the Jesuits, likely to prepare China for joint looting with European spook families. He is thus a late example of Chinese pun-encryption and not proof for early Chinese spookery. He does cite many older works though, and such texts like the Xue Er by Confucius are already pun-encrypted. That’s why I do not think that the Jesuits brought the concept of spookery to China, or the Phoenicians, or “ze Jews”. Rather, the ruling elites of all great civilizations had each developed their own version of spookery or proto-spookery. Whenever they then encountered each other, the spooky tendrils would likely connect seamlessly, to form the global mesh we have today. I therefore predict that we will also find homonym-encryption in more ancient Chinese texts. They will be harder to de-pun though, as the pronunciation may have changed considerably, and with it the homonymity.
One last note: Chinese language consists of very few phonemes, so it’s full of natural homonyms. My decryption is therefore also not watertight, as there are so many possibilities. It is merely a starting point and proof of concept that pun-encryption existed in many ancient cultures.
How to read this
- In the interlinear text, each word is a little block; each verse is a paragraph of little blocks.
- Possible encrypted meaning is on light red at the top, with hyperlinked pun vocabulary just below.
- Original text is in the center, as transcription & glyphs.
- Official meaning is on light green at the bottom, with hyperlinked official vocabulary just above.
- Pun vocabulary is in red, whenever the meaning differs.
- Pun decryption is not an exact science. Please read the introduction, and judge yourself whether I got it right.
- An encrypted spook message does not automatically mean that the literal meaning is wrong, or that the encrypted meaning is the truth. Still, religious readers should proceed with care.
The multitudes are governed through lying & confusion.
On Agriculture 1.1.a
Encrypted: The multitudes of peasants are managed & governed [by] hiding & bending the truth, [and] through confusion the people are controlled.
Official: The god of agriculture told [the] flame emperor, [to have] through fire nominate government officials.
The multitudes of peasants
甡 shēn: multitude; 農事 nóngshì: farming task
神農氏 shen nong shi
神農氏 shénnóngshì: Farmer God
The god of agriculture
are managed & governed
御 yù: manage, govern; 馭 yù: control
曰 yue
曰 yuē: say
told
[by] hiding & bending the truth,
匽 yǎn: hide, repress, bend; 諦 dì: truth
炎帝 yan di
炎帝 yándì: Flame Emperors
[the] flame emperor,
[and] through
以 yǐ: by means of
以 yi
以 yǐ: by means of
[to have] through
confusion
惑 huò: confuse, puzzled
火 huo
火 huǒ: fire
fire
the people
民 mín: people; 冥 míng: stupid
名 ming
名 míng: name
nominate
are controlled.
管 guǎn: control, manage
官 guan
官 guān: government official
government officials.
Wear a mask resembling the slaves.
On Agriculture 1.1.b
Encrypted: Wear a curtain [veil] as the self, the resembling curtain [veil] becomes a semblance, [for] resembling the imbeciles / slaves it can be used, by pretending [to be] an everyman.
Official: Chopped wood became a plowshare, crushed [??] wood became a plow, the plow for hoeing it could be used, by teaching [this] to thousands of people.
Wear
著 zhuó: wear (clothes), use, apply
斫 zhuo
斫 zhuó: chop, hack
Chopped
a curtain [veil]
幕 mù: curtain, screen
木 mu
木 mù: wood
wood
as
為 wéi: as, by, become
為 wei
為 wéi: as, by, become
became
the self,
私 sī: personal; 似 sì: seem, appear, resemble
耜 si
耜 sì: plow, plowshare
a plowshare,
the resembling
柔 róu: flexible; 若 ruò: seem, like, as, if
揉 rou
揉 róu: knead, rub
crushed [??]
curtain [veil]
幕 mù: curtain, screen
木 mu
木 mù: wood
wood
becomes
為 wéi: as, by, become
為 wei
為 wéi: as, by, become
became
a semblance,
類 lèi: similar, like, resemble
耒 lei
耒 lěi: plow
a plow,
[for] resembling
類 lèi: similar, like, resemble
耒 lei
耒 lěi: plow
the plow
the imbeciles / slaves
懦 nuò: imbecile; 奴 nú: slave
耨 nou
耨 nòu: hoe, weed
for hoeing
it
之 zhī: him, it
之 zhi
之 zhī: him, it
it
can be used,
用 yòng: use, employ
用 yong
用 yòng: use, employ
could be used,
by
以 yǐ: by means of
以 yi
以 yǐ: by means of
by
pretending [to be]
矯 jiǎo: pretend, feign
教 jiao
教 jiāo: teach
teaching [this]
an everyman.
萬人 wànrén: everyman
萬人 wan ren
萬人 wànrén: ten thousand people
to thousands of people.
Pretend to be honest.
On Agriculture 1.1.c
Encrypted: One begins by pretending to be honest, because this is desired [by] the multitudes of peasants.
Official: It began by teaching to plow, because it was the symbol [?] of the god of agriculture.
One begins
始 shǐ: begin, start
始 shi
始 shǐ: begin, start
It began
by pretending
矯 jiǎo: pretend, feign
教 jiao
教 jiāo: teach
by teaching
to be honest,
耿 gěng: honest, upright
耕 geng
耕 gēng: plow, till
to plow,
because
故 gù: reason, cause
故 gu
故 gù: reason, cause
because
this is desired
恏 hào: desire; 好 hǎo: good
號 hao
號 hào: mark, sign
it was the symbol [?]
[by] the multitudes of peasants.
甡 shēn: multitude; 農事 nóngshì: farming task
神農氏 shen nong shi
神農氏 shénnóngshì: Farmer God
of the god of agriculture.
The people are stubborn & brutal, so feign to be one of them.
On Agriculture 1.2.a
Encrypted: The “Discussions of Secrecy” [?] say: Stubborn [are] the people, known [to be] brutal beasts in semblance. If you meet the multitudes of peasants, use of sweetness an appearance, separate [from] the true power, make [yourself] similar, feign [to be] a person of the countryside to do it.
Official: The “White Tiger Discussions” say: Of old the people, all ate bird and animal flesh. [But] as for of the god of agriculture, he [then] used of the heavens the times [seasons?], to separate of the ground the profits [harvests?], [he] made the plow, [and] taught the people of the countryside [how] to do it.
The “Discussions of Secrecy” [?]
背後 bèihòu: behind sb's back; 通 tōng: communicate
《白虎通 bai hu tong
白 bái: white; 虎 hǔ: tiger; 通 tōng: communicate
The “White Tiger Discussions”
say:
云 yún: (classical) to say
云 yun
云 yún: (classical) to say
say:
Stubborn [are]
固執 gùzhí: obstinate, stubborn
古之 gu zhi
古 gǔ: old; 之 zhī: him, it
Of old
the people,
人民 rénmín: people
人民 renmin
人民 rénmín: people
the people,
known [to be]
結識 jiéshí: to get to know sb
皆食 jie shi
皆 jiē: all; 食 shí: food, eat
all ate
brutal beasts
禽獸 qínshòu: beast (brutal person)
禽獸 qin shou
禽獸 qínshòu: birds and animals
bird and animal
in semblance.
若 ruò: to seem, like, as, if
肉 rou
肉 ròu: meat, flesh
flesh.
If you meet
值遇 zhíyù: to meet with, to bump into
至於 zhi yu
至於 zhìyú: as for, as to
[But] as for
the multitudes of peasants,
甡 shēn: multitude; 農 nóng: peasant
神農 shen nong
神農 shénnóng: Farmer God
of the god of agriculture,
use
用 yòng: use
用 yong
用 yòng: use
he [then] used
of sweetness
甜 tián: sweet
天 tian
天 tiān: sky, heaven
of the heavens
之 zhī: him, it
之 zhi
之 zhī: him, it
an appearance,
勢 shì: influence, outward appearance
時 shi
時 shí: time
the times [seasons?],
separate
分 fēn: divide, separate
分 fen
分 fēn: divide, separate
to separate
[from] the true
諦 dì: truth
地 di
地 dì: earth, ground, field
of the ground
之 zhī: him, it
之 zhi
之 zhī: him, it
power,
力 lì: power, force
利 li
利 lì: advantage, benefit, profit
the profits [harvests?],
make [yourself]
製 zhì: make
製 zhi
製 zhì: make
[he] made
similar,
類似 lèisì: similar
耒耜 lei si
耒耜 lěisì: plow
the plow,
feign [to be]
矯 jiǎo: pretend, feign
教 jiao
教 jiāo: teach
[and] taught
a person
民 mín: people
民 min
民 mín: people
the people
of the countryside
農 nóng: peasant, agriculture
農 nong
農 nóng: peasant, agriculture
of the countryside
to do it.
作 zuò: do
作 zuo
作 zuò: do
[how] to do it.
Feign to be of the multitudes to suppress them.
On Agriculture 1.2.b
Encrypted: [Your] spirit thus changes into it [?] [to] let the people be suppressed, that is why [one] fakes [to be] of the multitudes of peasants.
Official: The god but changed into it [?], let the people properly [use] it, therefore [was] named he god of agriculture.
[Your] spirit
神 shén: God, deity, spirit
神 shen
神 shén: God, deity, spirit
The god
thus
而 ér: and, but, and so
而 er
而 ér: and, but, and so
but
changes
化 huà: change into
化 hua
化 huà: change into
changed
into it [?]
之 zhī: him, it
之 zhi
之 zhī: him, it
into it [?],
[to] let
使 shǐ: make, cause
使 shi
使 shǐ: make, cause
let
the people
民 mín: people
民 min
民 mín: people
the people
be suppressed,
抑制 yìzhì: suppress, keep down
宜之 yi zhi
宜 yí: proper; 之 zhī: him, it
properly [use] it,
that is why
故 gù: reason, cause, therefore
故 gu
故 gù: reason, cause, therefore
therefore
[one] fakes
帷 wéi: curtain, screen; 偽 wěi: false, fake
謂 wei
謂 wèi: speak, say, name
[was] named
[to be] of
之 zhī: him, it
之 zhi
之 zhī: him, it
he
the multitudes of peasants.
甡 shēn: multitude; 農 nóng: peasant
神農 shen nong
神農 shénnóng: Farmer God
god of agriculture.